<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>From Now On by thatfanficguy</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257048">From Now On</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatfanficguy/pseuds/thatfanficguy'>thatfanficguy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Only kind of a self-insert though, Self-Insert, The Canon Divergence becomes more apparent as it goes on, Trans Bella Swan, Trans Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:47:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,175</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23257048</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatfanficguy/pseuds/thatfanficguy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>So... Who knew that all those times that I wished that I could escape my life would pay off? Pay off by thrusting me into the world of Twilight, but pay off nonetheless. Hi, I'm Beau Swan. I used to be a guy named Ryan. This is the story of how I lost my old life, popped into my new one, found my place in the greatest family anyone could ask for, and somehow became the luckiest son of a bitch in Forks. </p><p>(Or, what happens when I read As Dreams Are Made On by Themiscyra and want to write my own Bella replacement fic about a lonely trans man that falls into the world of Twilight and finds the happiness he deserves with Rosalie Hale.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale, Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Rosalie Hale/Beau Swan, Rosalie Hale/Bella Swan, Rosalie Hale/Original Male Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>238</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Airplanes and Coma Pains</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I never knew I could be this happy.</p>
<p>As I watched the love of my life walk down the aisle, wearing her mother’s wedding dress, I could swear there were genuine, not at all manly tears in my eyes. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, and I couldn’t wait to be her husband.</p>
<p>Truth be told, when I met her, I didn’t think marriage was in the cards for me. At least, not for a few years. Befitting an eighteen year old, the longest relationship I had ever held down lasted about nine months, and I had all kinds of plans to go to school and get a career going before I wanted to settle down. That all changed the second my whirlwind of a girl climbed- quite literally- into my life.</p>
<p>It took us quite a while to get here. A few years, surgeries, threats on our lives, the concept of eternity looming over us at all times, and one of us falling through another dimension and landing in a nonsensical, cliched work of supernatural fiction.</p>
<p>But before I get to our happily ever after, I have to go back to the beginning. All the way back to when I got run over by Stephenie Meyer. At least, I can only assume it was Stephenie Meyer, since one minute I was walking down the sidewalk, minding my own business and getting ready to cross the street, the next, a woman driving a black sedan with the license plate “TWIHARD” came barreling towards me, leaving me with no opportunity to get away. The last thing I felt before my world went dark was crushing pain all across my body.</p>
<p>=</p>
<p>Everything was black for a long time. When I finally came to, light was the first thing to catch my attention. Of course, it was- I always got woken up by light before anything else. I reflexively kept my eyes closed. Whatever time it was, I still needed more sleep. As that thought drifted across my mind, it all came back to me. I had been hit by a car. That light was probably from the fluorescent bulbs they use at every hospital. Somehow, I was alive, and nothing hurt- I guess they had given me the good stuff. As my senses came back to me, the dull hum of machines reached my ears. Probably the air conditioning, and whatever was keeping me stable. No big deal. Except… there was no rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor. I let myself wake up a little bit more, hoping that the noise would come through as I came to my senses and praying that I wouldn’t get hit with the feeling of multiple broken bones. Finally, when I heard and felt nothing new, I opened my eyes and took in the plane cabin.</p>
<p><em>Wait</em>. Why the fuck was I on a plane? Frantically, I twisted and turned around in my seat to confirm that yep, I was currently sitting in row 18, seat B, which somehow I could see without my glasses. How exactly could I see without my glasses? I gently slapped my face to make absolutely certain that they weren’t there, and when my hand made contact with skin and eye instead of metal and lens I took in the situation in full. I wasn’t in a bed, I wasn’t in any pain, I probably wasn’t even in California. I had been run over by a reckless young adult fiction author, and now I was on a plane. I should have been in the hospital, with my parents waiting on me to wake up and get my dark brown square-framed Armani Exchange glasses back on my face.</p>
<p>Panic filled my chest, and I felt sick. The kind of deep, pulling nausea that gives you chills and a tension headache against your temples. I needed to figure this out.</p>
<p>I saw what had to have been my backpack (except it wasn’t, it was a black backpack, sure, but it wasn’t <em>my </em>black backpack) in the legroom in front of me and opened it. Bingo. A wallet, front and center. And front and center in that wallet was a driver’s license. Isabella Marie Swan’s driver’s license, to be exact.</p>
<p><em>Bella fucking Swan?</em> Last time I checked, I was not Bella Swan. I had never been Bella Swan. I was the farthest thing from Bella Swan. Bella Swan is a fictional character and I was just a teenaged boy who had read her story. No way. No fucking way. There is no possible way that this could be real. This was not real.</p>
<p>I closed the wallet, counted to 10, shot up a prayer to the God I stopped believing in when I was 14 (just in case) and opened it again, hoping for once to look at my own face.</p>
<p>Isabella Marie Swan, born September 13, 1987, sex: female, five feet four inches tall, brown eyes stared right back up at me.</p>
<p>Well, god damnit. Even in a dream, I was still stuck as a woman. Because this had to be a dream, or some kind of opiate high from whatever drugs they were giving me at the hospital. Normal human men, even trans men, don’t magically enter the Twilight universe after getting hit by a car. I must be in some kind of coma. Yeah, that’s it. A coma. I was thinking about Twilight when I got ran over, so that’s what I’m dreaming about. This is totally an Ash’s Coma situation.</p>
<p>Fuck it, if this was what I was dealing with, I had to see if I was really her.</p>
<p>I looked in the mirror, and a teenaged girl stared back at me. I was used to seeing a mostly androgynous guy with a roundish face, short black hair, glasses, grey eyes, freckles, and an appearance that looked more-or-less full grown. Instead, she had wide, dark brown eyes, prominent cheekbones, a thin nose, and full lips. Long, dark brown hair framed her heart-shaped face and narrow jaw. Disappointingly narrow jaw. If I had acquired a new dream body, it could have been one with a face that passed as male a little better. My body however, slender with a small bust and not too many curves, was an upgrade. I was even a little taller, which was not just an upgrade, but a <em>major</em> upgrade. I wrinkled my- her?- nose as I took in what I was wearing.</p>
<p>A white, lacy, sleeveless shirt, jeans, and black sneakers made up my outfit, one I clearly didn’t choose myself, and a silver watch with a brown strap sat on my left wrist. I quickly switched it over. I sighed, looking at my now empty right wrist. In my real life, I always wore a black Legend of Zelda bracelet. It signified everything the series had gotten me through and a reminder that it would all turn out okay eventually.</p>
<p>…I could have used it at that moment.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, my self-reflection was interrupted by rude pounding on the bathroom door.</p>
<p>“Sorry!” I called out, wincing at how high my voice came out. I quickly opened the door and scurried back to my seat. I exhaled to myself once I buckled in again. This was a trip. I rolled through the first parts of the Twilight book (that I could even remember) in my head until I was interrupted, again, by the beeping of the overhead monitor and electric hum of the speakers. The flight attendant’s  voice was almost eerily chipper</p>
<p>“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen! We’ve now begun our final descent into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport so at this time, please return your seats to their upright and locked positions. Remember to obey the fasten seatbelt sign until the captain turns it off, and we’ll be on the ground in approximately 15 minutes.”</p>
<p>Well, shit. I guess it was go time.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Getting "Home" and Freaking Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey, second chapter! this is some more of the establishing stuff, getting our main man settled at bella's, and a LOT more feelings. the feelings don't end here though, don't worry. plenty more to come. i'll try to get the next chapter out soon; but let's just say it involves a lot more exposition than this one. it'll definitely be out before the end of next month.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>We landed, no issues, and I picked up Bella's backpack with shaking hands. Still unable to believe I had somehow gotten myself in this situation, I walked off the plane, through the airport, and- when I double checked Bella’s ticket- onto another surprise plane to get to Port Angeles.</p>
<p>I tried to sleep on the second flight but I couldn’t. I spent the hour or so it took tossing and turning in my seat, looking out the window, and wracking my brain for any and all Twilight facts I could remember.</p>
<p>When that plane landed, I sat frozen, unable to unbuckle my belt right away. My thoughts were racing, I didn’t want to do this, but finally the glares from the flight attendants were too strong to ignore.</p>
<p>(I took my sweet time walking off the plane, though.)</p>
<p>After I got off, I made my way towards baggage claim- again, taking my sweet-ass time. That was where Charlie would be waiting for Bella, and I hoped the man wasn’t getting impatient or worried but I needed to buy as much time as I could to figure this out.</p>
<p>If this was the actual Twilight Universe, that meant it was 2005. The last time I was in 2005, I was 4. I had no idea what went down in 2005, and I didn’t even have my phone to look it up. However, the Internet did exist, and I could use it to look up everything relevant- everything except for what I needed to look up the most. The Twilight Saga, of course. It had been a hell of a long time since I had read the books or watched the movies, so for now, I was a millisecond away from panicking at any moment and coasting off of knowledge with more holes in it than swiss cheese.</p>
<p>My stomach twisted itself in knots again as I walked the path that would take me deeper into Bella Swan’s life, and as soon as I hit the end, there he was. Charlie Swan in the flesh, mustache and all, stood near the baggage carousel and waved awkwardly when he saw me. Bella. Whoever. I waved back, probably just as awkwardly, and smiled. Maybe it was more of a cringe. Who knows.</p>
<p>“Hey… Ch - Dad.” I said, my voice wavering a little bit. After years of training my <em>actual</em> voice to sound as deep as it could for coming out of a biologically female mouth, I had to force Bella's to stay high. Juggling that with trying to avoid accidentally calling Charlie 'Charlie' would be a challenge. Calling him 'dad' felt incredibly weird. Even weirder than physically touching him. He put his arm around me, and I tried my best to lean into him like Bella would have.</p>
<p>“Hey, Bells.” He greeted. “How’s your mother?”</p>
<p>Oh boy. Starting off with an easy one, weren’t we?</p>
<p>“She’s good,” I said generically. I had no idea who Renée was, let alone how but I hoped ‘good’ would suffice.</p>
<p>“Good.” Charlie said, voice a little grumbly. “How are you? How was the flight?”</p>
<p>“I’m alright. Kind of tired, I guess.” I clarified, as honest as I could be without making him think something was actually wrong with Bella, because ‘alright’ was probably the furthest thing from what I was. “Flights were long.” Charlie nodded.</p>
<p>“Understandable.” We stood in silence and watched the bags roll by. If I just kept quiet and awkward, which honestly wasn’t hard, I think could mimic their relationship in the books pretty well. At least I didn’t have to identify any of Bella’s stuff. Thank God Charlie knew what her bags looked like, because as soon as they passed by, he grabbed them and started walking towards the doors.</p>
<p>I scrambled to follow him out into the rainy parking lot and cursed Bella Swan for wearing a sleeveless lace shirt even though she knew she was going to Washington. I was freezing, even after I put on the parka she brought.</p>
<p>“Fucking Bella… I’m cold as hell…” I muttered to myself, making sure Charlie couldn’t hear me as we reached his police cruiser.</p>
<p>“We’ve got another hour in the car to get to Forks.” Charlie said in passing as he threw Bella’s bags into the trunk. I took off the backpack and tossed it in on top of them before getting into the passenger seat of the cruiser.</p>
<p>“Not too bad.” I agreed, buckling up as Charlie turned the engine on and drove out of the parking lot. He navigated onto the freeway, flipping the wipers on. As he drove, we made awkward small talk that felt like a pop quiz on Twilight backstory until he brought something up that I <em>definitely</em> knew about.</p>
<p>“I found a good car for you, really cheap.” Oh, hell yeah. The truck. I had forgotten about Bella’s truck.</p>
<p>“Really?” I played along; he didn’t know that I knew.</p>
<p>"Well, it's a truck actually, a Chevy."</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah? Where from?”</p>
<p>"Do you remember Billy Black down at La Push?" I actually did, though probably only as well as the real Bella.</p>
<p>“Sort of, yeah. Did he offer to sell it to you?” Charlie turned his head to look over at me, a wry smile on his face.</p>
<p>“He did, but I actually already bought it for you. A homecoming gift, you know?” I smiled back.</p>
<p>“Thanks!” I didn’t try to hide my excitement from him.</p>
<p>“No problem.”</p>
<p>As Charlie kept driving, I leaned back in the passenger seat of the cruiser and watched the wet, green, beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery fly by. I could wake up and go back to my old life any minute now. I might as well enjoy this while it lasted. Hell, I had always wanted a pickup truck. And fuck it, I could even try to come out and transition. If Charlie rejected me, who cared? I wasn’t ruining the relationship between me and my actual parents. Trans people caught hell in 2005, so I had to be careful there, but who knows? Maybe me dying was the way to get out of here, and if it was it probably didn’t matter if it was via hate crime or not. Of course I didn’t <em>want</em> to go and get myself killed, but I might as well try to live here without worrying too much about what would happen if I did.</p>
<p>“Hey, Dad?” I asked. I still felt my skin crawl whenever I called him that, but Bella never called him Charlie to his face, which meant I couldn’t either. He didn’t respond, lost in thought as he drove. I tried again. “Dad?” That time, I got his attention.</p>
<p>“Yeah? What do you need, Bells?”</p>
<p>“If I had been born a guy, what would you and Mom have named me?” He frowned, mustache tilting down as he thought. I knew the answer, of course, but “Bella” probably didn’t.</p>
<p>“Beaufort Geoffrey. After your mother’s grandfather and my father.” I just nodded in response, but on the inside, I was laughing hysterically. No wonder Beau in the gender-swapped Twilight hated his name. It was kind of weird, and knowing Beau’s personality, not his type.</p>
<p>I, however, could get used to it. I had a name- Ryan- but I didn't care too much about giving it up. No one ever even called me by it since I never came out to have the chance to.</p>
<p>…Now I might never get it. And, to my continued numb shock, that didn’t sting as much as I expected. I sat, the green surrounding me starting to feel less like a nightmare and more like a dream come true, honestly surprised at how ready I felt to give up everything in my old life. I had always said I was happy, or thought that I would be if I kept working at it, but, was that even true? And if it wasn’t, what would happen when I woke up now that I knew how I really felt? I shook my head hard, pushing that thought far from my mind. Now wasn’t the time. Besides, I had left Charlie hanging.</p>
<p>“Alright, thanks.” I said, still a little absentminded.</p>
<p>“Why’d you want to know?” He asked. I shrugged, trying to keep my cool.</p>
<p>“Just wondering.” We drove in silence for a while again after that. Finally, we drove through the small town of Forks and pulled into a driveway. Charlie smoothly parked next to Bella’s truck- or I guess it was my truck now. I immediately hopped out to look at it, which made Charlie laugh as he went over to the trunk to get the bags.</p>
<p>It was a monster of a thing, faded red with big, rounded fenders and a bulbous cab. The grill was rusted to hell, and judging by the classic, round style of the model, it was definitely old. In other words, a fixer-upper, but a badass fixer upper if I had ever seen one.</p>
<p>“This is awesome!” I told Charlie, and I meant it. A new toy was just the thing to get my mind off of the existential crisis that had become my life.</p>
<p>“Glad you like it.” He said, smiling a little. “C’mon, let’s go inside.” I circled around to the trunk of the cruiser to take the backpack and one of the bags before shutting it, and then met Charlie on the porch just in time for him to unlock the front door.</p>
<p>I didn’t know what to expect when I walked in, but it was just a normal house. A small living room centered around a TV, a kitchen with weird, out of place yellow cabinets that probably also doubled as a dining room and a staircase leading to the upstairs that Charlie ascended. I followed, still taking everything in.</p>
<p>“Let me know if you need anything.” Charlie said. “I’ll be downstairs.” He put the bags he was carrying down in front of the door and made his way back to the living room. With Charlie out of the way, I was free to check out Bella’s room. I opened the door, and was pretty happy with what I saw.</p>
<p>Bella’s room was simple, and thankfully not that feminine. The undecorated walls were a nice light blue that matched the wooden floor, and the bed, dresser and desk all seemed to match each other well enough. Thankfully there was a computer and a modem, but I shuddered to think what the 15 year old connection had in terms of speed. I tossed her backpack next to the desk and put the rest of the bags in front of the dresser. I’d unpack it later. For now, I was tired.</p>
<p>Sighing what had to have been my thousandth exhausted sigh of the day, I laid on Bella’s bed and looked out her window. Wrong move to relax, but, well, right move, considering I had been so focused on the leadup that I forgot about the payoff. My next thoughts went something like this.</p>
<p>Oh no.</p>
<p>Oh God no.</p>
<p>Oh sweet baby Jesus mother of fucks NO.</p>
<p><em>Bella’s window</em>.</p>
<p>The window that Edward Cullen would eventually creep on her through. Because Edward Cullen will fall in love with Bella Swan. And I was Bella Swan.</p>
<p>I had spent so much time focusing on what this all meant and figuring out how to get here in one piece that I didn’t take more than a moment to think of what <em>here</em> was- Edward finding Bella at school and falling in love with her, kicking off the plot of Twilight.</p>
<p>I needed to stop it, but I couldn’t do it on my own. I needed someone, anyone to help. I tried to think fast. I was pretty sure Charlie remained oblivious throughout the series. I hadn’t met any of Bella’s human friends yet, but even if I had, they were clearly not an option. I didn’t have any directions to get to the wolves, but I could probably get some from Charlie and drive there without raising too much suspicion. Though, my sudden appearance would raise more questions than I was comfortable dealing with right now. If I remembered correctly, the wolves didn't even start the series being able to shift anyway.</p>
<p>That left the Cullens. Let’s see, Edward was a clear no-go. Even though he could read my thoughts and get the whole story, his infatuation with Bella was a powerful thing. I’d already see him at school tomorrow and that’s when the disaster would start. I had no clue what Carlisle and Esme’s powers were, if they even had powers, so that ruled them out. Emmett’s power only seemed to be being huge, same with Rosalie, whose power I could have sworn was being supernaturally hot. Jasper was an empath, or something like it, so if I could get ahold of him, that could maybe help tone down Edward’s reaction. Jasper’s wife, however…</p>
<p>Alice Cullen was the perfect call. She could see the future, so if I could get a message to her that she’d see in the future, she could help me.</p>
<p>With my hope of waking up fading more each passing second, I sat down at Bella’s desk and rummaged around until I found a pen and a piece of paper. If it was going to be my life now, I needed to get this life together. Priority number one: I needed to make sure Edward didn’t go after me. I mean, sure, the Robert Pattinson look is attractive to some guys, but I’m not some guys. I’m straight. I had about 8 hours until I saw Edward at school the next day, and I knew that only one person- well, only one vampire could help me. I took a deep breath, clicked the pen, and began to write. I was pretty sure Alice was a little bit of a gossip, so I had no qualms about spelling this out as bluntly and dramatically as possible.</p>
<p>ALICE CULLEN. I KNOW YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THIS IN THE FUTURE. COME TO BELLA SWAN’S/POLICE CHIEF CHARLIE SWAN'S HOUSE. PLEASE. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY CONCERNING YOUR BROTHER EDWARD CULLEN. IF YOU DON’T COME NOW, HE’LL FALL IN LOVE WITH ME AND I'M NOT THE ONE HE SHOULD BE FALLING IN LOVE WITH. YOU CAN COME IN THROUGH THE WINDOW. THANKS IN ADVANCE.</p>
<p>I triumphantly clicked the pen to shut it, set it down on the table, threw the window wide open and waited.</p>
<p>One minute.</p>
<p>Two.</p>
<p>Three.</p>
<p>Five.</p>
<p>Seven.</p>
<p>Ten. I was starting to lose hope.</p>
<p>Then, 17 minutes later on the dot, like a stroke of magic, Alice Cullen gracefully stepped through the open window and onto Bella’s bedroom floor, tugging Rosalie Hale in with her.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Stuck and Awe</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>What do you do when the hottest girl you’ve ever seen comes literally crawling through your window? You brush your hair over your shoulder, forget that you still completely look like a female, flash a winning smile, and pull out your best pickup line.</p><p>“They say honesty is the best policy, so I have to tell you that you're the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”</p><p>…Is what I <em>would have </em>said if I had even a semblance of composure or the retroactive knowledge that I was looking at my future wife.</p><p>So, what actually happened? I sat on the bed with a dumbass shocked look on my woman face, didn't move an inch, had no winning smile, and what came out of my mouth was a babbling, slightly dreamy, very stupid exclamation of “Holy shit, this is the best coma ever. You are so <em>hot</em>, <em>oh my Lord</em>.” Thank God my voice at least came out appropriately low. Rosalie sighed and looked over at me while Alice doubled over laughing. As I made proper eye contact with her for the first time, all the breath went out of my lungs.</p><p>Her golden hair fell past her shoulders in gentle, natural waves. For all that she clearly tried to look put together, stray pieces that probably got messed up on the way here stuck to her forehead in a way that made me want to gently sweep them up off her face and fix them. Her golden eyes, subtle makeup and statuesque features drew me in even further to her face but my eyes lingered on her lips, which were lined with a dark pink lipstick that I (shamefully) just wanted to kiss off. She stared down at me; pupils blown wider than I had ever seen anyone’s and her mouth open in a soft, shocked ‘o.’ While I stood, similarly transfixed, Alice kept laughing and snapped me out of my trance.</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I knew you’d say that but it’s just as funny hearing it in person.” She finally said. Rosalie chuckled dryly, but continued to look mostly unimpressed.</p><p>“Yeah, I can’t believe I actually said that.” I stumbled out. “What I meant to say was hi.” I waved a sheepish, embarrassed wave. “I’m not Bella Swan. My name is Ryan, or Beau, maybe," I cringed, this was not going well, "I don’t really know yet. I’m an 18 year old guy, I got hit by a car and woke up on a plane; I’m pretty sure this is an elaborate dream I’m having while I’m in a coma somewhere in Los Angeles, but if this is real, I <em>really</em> need you to make sure your brother doesn’t fall in love with me.”</p><p>Well fuck. None of that made sense. I guess my habit of embarrassing myself in front of pretty girls carried over from my real life.</p><p>“Don’t worry; we’ve already gotten it taken care of.” Alice confirmed. I breathed a sigh of relief. At least she understood what I was talking about.</p><p>“Good.” I felt my shoulders relax, and my jaw unclench a little. "So what's going to happen when I meet him, then?" Alice looked away, while Rosalie started fidgeting with her hands.</p><p>“Alice…” Her voice was quiet, and almost timid. I frowned. First, Alice dodged my question. Second, Rosalie Hale? Timid? What Twilight was this? “I could have met him tomorrow. You didn’t need to bring me here for this.”</p><p>“Yes I did,” Alice said quickly, brushing her sister's concerns away. “Anyway, while I’m here, do you have any other questions?” Other questions, as opposed to the very important one I just asked?</p><p>…But there was something else I had to know before I really dealt with that. Even though she probably knew what I would ask first, she set out the opportunity and I pounced.</p><p>“Have you seen me waking up?” Alice cringed, and my heart sank.</p><p>“Ooh, right off the bat. I should have known that's what you'd want to ask. I’m sorry, but… No. You don't wake up. You’re not even in a coma. You legitimately came here somehow, and before you ask I have no idea how. I can just see the future, I’m not omnipotent. But regardless of what happened you can’t go back. There’s no way out, at least no way out that I can see.”</p><p>My heart leapt into my throat, not quite believing what she said.</p><p>Well, that was it. I was stuck here.</p><p>I would never go back to my real home. My real parents. My real body. My car. The acquaintances I enjoyed spending time with, and the few people I could call friends. I might not ever even go back to California, and I knew for a fact I'd miss the way the palm trees looked against the blue sky.</p><p>As much as I didn't like a lot of it, it was still my life and there were countless bright spots that I didn't even know if I could replicate here. I had lived that life for eighteen years, and to know that it was over broke my heart.</p><p>But… but I knew this could happen. I couldn't dwell now, especially while Alice was still here answering my questions.</p><p>"Okay." I said finally, my voice a little flat. “Then if I’m here, what about Bella Swan? What about the books?” Rosalie’s eyes went wide.</p><p>“Books?” Alice sighed, raising an eyebrow at me. Wrong thing to ask, apparently.</p><p>“Had to mention the books, dude,” She murmured. She then turned her attention back to Rosalie. “I saw some of it. He’s from a universe where we’re fictional. Some kind of great vampire love story between Edward and the real Bella Swan. Supposedly it’s huge.” I nodded in agreement. Twilight was, indeed, huge. Rosalie didn’t look happy to hear that, and glared over at me.</p><p>"Yeah…" I said, really just to fill the space and cut through the tension that seemed to have developed. Alice also seemed to sense it, so she started to slowly back away towards the window.</p><p>"So if that's all, then we'll just head out and see you at school tomorrow!" She said, a little <em>too </em>quick and a little <em>too </em>upbeat. I frowned.</p><p>“You never answered my question. What’s going to happen when I meet Edward? You said you took care of it, what did that mean?” Alice turned back to face away from me and got very, suspiciously quiet. “Alice?” I asked again, starting to panic.</p><p>“Nothing. Nothing will happen.”</p><p>“Define nothing, Alice. When Bella met Edward, it was like he was put under some kind of a spell, he couldn't resist her. She instantly became his entire world. He did some creepy shit in those books, is that not going to happen? Is that what you mean by "nothing" or is "nothing" him still falling in love with me at first sight without all the crazy stalker behavior?"</p><p>"That won't happen. None of the quote, crazy stalker behavior." That was good; at least I didn't have to worry about that, but Alice still wasn't telling me enough.</p><p>“Why not?" Stone face. Of course. "Okay, well, am I still Edward’s singer? If I am, then <em>something's </em>up there.”</p><p>"You're not his singer." I could tell she was starting to get fed up, but I had to keep pushing or I'd get nowhere.</p><p>"Well am I still his mate?" I asked. Alice's eyes widened.</p><p>Got her.</p><p>“No! You're nothing to him! Nothing will happen because you already have a mate.” She <em>finally</em> said, causing me to do an immediate double take.</p><p>Mate? Excuse me, what the fuck?</p><p>“What do you mean, I already have a mate? I shouldn’t have a mate. I’m not a vampire. There should be no mates, none of this should be happening!” I said, my voice rising. Alice sighed.</p><p>“Semantics. Yes, you’re right, you shouldn’t, but I’d hoped you’d understand what I meant. A vampire mated with you.” She explained.</p><p>“Well, tell me then! Who is it?”</p><p>But by the time Rosalie answered, I already knew. Why Alice had brought her here, why she was so cagey when I asked about Edward. I could see the pain in her eyes as she said the one thing that rocked my world to its core.</p><p>“Me.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>oh boy! now's really the time to get the ball rolling. as always, the next chapter will be up sometime in june. i'm starting summer school soon and am trying to find consistent work (harder than it sounds, especially now) so writing may be slow, just warning. </p><p>also, i'd really like to thank everyone for the support that i've received on this story so far. i've been writing for a very long time and am using this experience to overcome a long-held fear of publishing anything online, so the positive feedback and good response is truly humbling. keep being you, twilight fandom*. :) </p><p>*also, MIDNIGHT SUN!? holy shit. i can't wait to see inside canon!edward's head because let me just say, in all the bits and pieces of this story that i've pre-written, he's one of the harder ones for me to nail down.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Questions and Answers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Holy shit. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Holy fucking shit.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This isn't real. This couldn't be real. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Rosalie Hale</span>
  </em>
  <span> couldn't have mated with me. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was just… me. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're kidding." I finally said out loud. Alice raised any eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would I kid you?” She asked. I frowned.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure. No offense, but I really am not sure.” Rosalie scoffed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Would </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <span>kid you?” There was my answer, then.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably not.” I admitted. “That brings up a few more questions, then.” The girls gave me a look that basically meant ‘fire away.’ “Why?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No clue.” Alice said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have no earthly idea.” Rosalie said at the same time. Great. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, great. I guess we’re all in the same boat there. Next one, am I your singer, like the real Bella Swan was Edward’s?” I asked. Rosalie shook her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No. And even if you were, you would have no reason to worry. My control is excellent." She said haughtily. And </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>was more in-line with the Rosalie I had a vague recollection of. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s reassuring.” I was being honest, and in the interest of being honest, I had to tell them the threat that was hanging over all of our heads. “There’s going to be an issue in the few months.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Issue?” Alice frowned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In the Twilight book there are hunters. A group of vampires come, hunting humans. They pass through the area but they’re drawn in by Bella’s proximity to the family, I think. All the details are fuzzy, I’m sure I’ll remember more later, but as long as I’m here you’re in danger, Rosalie. You, Alice, and the rest of your family. Before they do come though, I should probably just stay away. Avoid you at school and all that. Keep to myself.” At that, Rosalie shook her head, and Alice squeezed my arm fiercely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's unnecessary." Rosalie said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not staying away. We won’t let you.” Alice leaned in and whispered. “Rosalie won’t want to hear this, and I know she’ll overhear it but I don’t care. No matter what happens between you guys, you’re family now, got it?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alice!” Rosalie hissed. Alice grinned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And that’s my cue. I’ll leave you two alone for a few minutes. Rose, I’ll see you back at home.” She winked and snuck back out of the window, leaving me alone with Rosalie. When she did, Rosalie got straight to the point.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How much do you know about me?” She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. I froze, trying to recall. I apparently didn’t answer quick enough for her, because she started tapping her foot expectantly. “Well? In your universe, where I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>apparently </span>
  </em>
  <span>a fictional character, how much do you know about me? You seem to know a fair bit about everything else.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huh, let's see. Rosalie Hale. Married to Emmett Cullen, blonde, tall, hot, didn't really like Bella, liked babies, turned by Carlisle after… This is where I drew a blank. I thought hard. Wasn't it after her husband killed her? Or was that what happened to Esme?  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Not much.” I offered. “To be honest, I haven’t read the Twilight books in a long time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I see.” She kept her face very passive, but I could at least tell that she didn't look mad. Instead, she looked oddly relieved. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I'm sorry." I said, and I meant it. Rosalie had never been a character I paid much attention to, now that she was in front of me (and even more gorgeous than I could have imagined), I felt bad that I couldn't remember much beyond the most surface details. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though really, I blamed Stephenie Meyer's writing for that almost as much as I blamed my bad memory. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t be. Tell me what you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> know.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well the only thing that’s really relevant and not something that’s directly related to Bella Swan is that you and Emmett are married.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Rosalie laughed, and the sound was as beautiful as she was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Married?" She asked rhetorically. "That's something else." I was thankful that she was at least single. One less thing to worry about in the grand scheme of things, I guess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So he’s…?” I trailed off deliberately to let her steer the conversation; God forbid she found any other reason to get on my case like she did about the book series.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My best friend and my greatest protector. Do you ever see someone and know they’re meant to be in your life?” Definitely. I could see the way she relaxed when she talked about him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In theory, yeah.” Oof. Good job, dude. Way to sound super extra lonely.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, he’s that for me.” She kept her answer short and simple, though I had a feeling that there was way more to that particular story than she was letting on. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s nice.” I said, at a loss for any real other words. We stood in silence for a few long, awkward seconds, and I was almost about to tell Rosalie she could leave when she spoke up again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You didn’t seem shocked, when Alice told you it wasn’t possible for you to go home.” I could almost hear the unspoken “Why?” that should have followed. I frowned a little. I really didn’t want to get into it, but I was sure that Rosalie wouldn’t be as good at taking a blunt, “I don’t want to talk about it” answer as she was at giving it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. I guess when I realized I woke up in Bella’s body I knew I wasn’t home anymore, and whenever you’re in an unfamiliar place without a way to get back, there’s always a chance you’re stuck. So from the start I was in the process of needing to begin accepting what had happened.” I didn’t need to mention that accepting it would be a lot easier once I got into the rhythm of this life. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm sorry, for what it's worth." She said, shrugging. I looked at her, confused. "About your life." I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah. Thanks.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome. Your life is an important thing, and to lose that can be…” she paused, seemingly trying to find the right word, “devastating.” I nodded, for a lack of anything else to do. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s… not super easy.” I agreed. Rosalie glanced towards the window.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I should be going. We’ll meet you in the parking lot tomorrow morning. Look for Emmett’s Jeep.” I flashed her a quick thumbs up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure thing. And remind me to pick your brain about cars later.” I said, smiling. I could have sworn she smiled a little back at me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will.” She said, sounding amused. She started to walk away, but I couldn’t let her go that easily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Rosalie?” I called to her as she reached Bella’s window. She turned back towards me.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What?” I was sure my face was bright red. I had no idea what to say. I didn’t even think she’d stop.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It was nice meeting you.” She shook her head, laughing quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Likewise.” And then, with a flash of gold in the night, she was gone.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>chapter four is here!! hope you all like it. it definitely lays some important groundwork and we get some one-on-one with beau and rose! the positive feedback and good response i have so far truly has me floored. i appreciate it so much. chapter five will come sometime in july, that'll tackle beau getting ready for his first day of school. hope everyone is excited about that one, because i sure am.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Ready for School and Ready to Go</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried a little after Rosalie left. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I'm ashamed to admit that I cried a lot. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I made sure to keep it quiet so Charlie wouldn’t hear me, but it was a good few hours before I got to sleep, still in Bella’s stupid lace top and skinny jeans. I couldn’t be bothered with unpacking then. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no alarm clock to wake me up except my stomach, and I’m glad I hadn’t eaten anything the day before or else I could have been late for school. I’d rather be early than late. Though, maybe I was a little too early. I had to be there by a little before eight, and I woke up around five. I made a mental note that I had to get an alarm clock. Maybe I could get Charlie to buy me one. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I rolled out of bed. I couldn’t have needed more than ten or fifteen minutes to actually get to the school- this town was too damn small. So, I got to work unpacking all of Bella’s stuff. She had a fair amount of books- all classics- which I didn’t mind. I loved to read, and it wouldn’t be terrible working my way through them, even though I preferred mysteries and horror. There were also a lot of knickknacks and random things that I assumed were sentimental to Bella. I put those on a shelf that was way too high on the wall to be practical, stacked the books on some more easily accessible ones, and started a pile of things I knew I wanted to sell online to make some extra cash. I also found Bella’s toiletries just in time to take a shower, which felt great. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When I was done, I walked back into Bella’s room and was presented with a new problem: what the hell to wear. First things first, I had to dress in a way that was seasonally appropriate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I stuck my arm out the window and confirmed- yep, it was fucking freezing. January in Washington was a bitch. I only hoped Bella had packed enough clothes as I opened her suitcase. She definitely did, but there was one issue. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, shit.” I muttered to myself, grimacing. Save for one large, grey zip-up hoodie, an old, sad looking black beanie, and a pair of skinny jeans that were slightly less skinny than all the rest, Bella Swan’s wardrobe was entirely unsuitable for someone trying to pass as male or someone trying to exist in Washington during the winter. That was a lot more stuff for the Ebay pile, I guessed. At least I would make some decent money.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Because really, those were only good for the cash they were worth. I had to get some new clothes, asap. Heavy coats, jeans, flannels, thick long-sleeved t-shirts, basically anything that would pass as costume on the early seasons of Supernatural. I also needed a haircut and a binder, but that would have to wait until I rode out the “new girl” hype and faded comfortably into obscurity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>…Though, if I was going to be hanging around the Cullens, that may never happen. From what I remembered, they were a pretty big deal throughout school. or maybe that was just Bella’s opinion. Either way, I would find out soon. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I put on the jeans, Bella’s only sports bra, and a random long-sleeved black shirt before zipping up the hoodie. I was planning on tucking my hair under the hat, but until I came out to Charlie I didn't want him to question why I looked the way I looked. I found the parka where I had put it yesterday, put the beanie in one of the pockets, and made sure to lay it on the bed so I wouldn’t forget it. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That only left shoes, which I had already found while I was unpacking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bella's mom must have gotten her some rain boots, because a pair in her size were sitting at the bottom of one of the bags. I pulled them out, checked the heel and was pleasantly surprised. A women’s 9 was at least a couple of sizes bigger than what my old body wore. Either way, the boots were my only option considering the only other shoes she had were some girly sneakers made of that bizarre mesh material, and sandals. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After I was dressed, I grabbed Bella’s backpack. It seemed like she had already gotten her things together and packed up for school before she left Phoenix, because when I looked inside, there were some empty notebooks, a pencil case, and a pretty worn-out copy of Wuthering Heights. I seemed to recall somewhat distantly in my mind that it was one of Bella’s favorites (I had never read it), so it probably wasn’t for class. Her wallet was still in the bag where I had left it, as well. All I really needed was something to take for lunch, and I’m sure I could figure that out. So, I was basically ready.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was around seven by the time I got downstairs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Charlie was in the kitchen working the coffeemaker when I walked in, and I cringed internally when I greeted him. I hoped it wouldn't always feel this awkward to live with a man who totally wasn't my dad, while acting like he totally was my dad. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Hey." My voice cracked from either not sleeping or crying way too much last night.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Morning, Bells." Charlie grumbled, pouring himself a cup of coffee. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Do we have anything in the fridge for breakfast?" I asked. He nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Bacon, eggs, and bread's on the counter." Charlie tilted his head towards a plastic breadbox sitting near a toaster. That at least was easy. While I was digging around to find everything I needed to make breakfast, I also found some stuff to make lunch. Bella didn’t have a lunch box yet (another thing I needed to buy- I should start writing down that list) so I grabbed a nearby paper bag and filled it with a sandwich and some random other snacks I found in the pantry that would last me through the day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The breakfast I made was alright. Fast, easy, and it’s really hard to mess up bacon, eggs, and toast. I was so hungry that I finished it quickly, which was a good thing, because Charlie alerted me to the time.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s about seven-thirty. If you want to get to school on time you’d better get going.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay. Would you mind writing down some directions while I get my stuff?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sure.” He grabbed a nearby paper and pencil while I went upstairs and grabbed “my” backpack and parka. When I got back downstairs, Charlie had a piece of paper torn from a yellow legal pad and a set of keys in his hands. He handed me both, and I checked the directions. Seemed straightforward enough.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks, dad.” I said. He gave me a slightly awkward hug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome. I’ll probably still be at the station when you get home. Have a nice day. ” I smiled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I will.” I waved, put on my parka, and went outside. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, it was cold.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I basically ran to the car, unlocked it, and turned it on so I could get the heat to work. I waited the full few minutes until it kicked on- it was definitely an old car, that’s for sure- and took the jacket off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Finally comfortable, I sat in the truck, inhaling the weird smell that sat in the cab. Gas, peppermint, and something else that I couldn't place. Cigarettes, maybe? I wasn’t sure. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The engine was insanely loud, which sucked, but the radio still worked. I turned it to a classic rock station and backed out of the driveway. I drove pretty frequently back in my old life, and even though my car was smaller than my new truck, I got the hang of it quickly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As I drove, following Charlie’s directions, I tried to steel myself for my first day as a junior at Forks High.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was going to be hell on Earth. Everyone would know Bella as Bella, Chief Swan’s daughter, and if I tried to tell them anything else before I adjusted into the student body, I’d probably be massacred. I’d probably still get massacred if I came out after I adjusted into the student body. No one even knew what trans people were; it was two-thousand fucking five. There were no famous trans people out at that time, especially not anyone transitioning from female to male. Chaz Bono wouldn’t come out for another 3 or 4 years. Caitlin Jenner would come out in about 10. I was kinda fucked. But, if I just stuck with the Cullens, I knew they’d protect me. At least Alice would. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, even though it sucked, I decided to stay closeted at school for the time being. Keep a low profile, stick with the Cullens when I could, and just be a loner for the rest of my day. Which introduced a whole host of other problems, being a loner in a small town. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ugh. Small town. Everyone would be talking about me no matter what I did. I guess that was the way it had to be though.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thankfully (I guess), the drive was short. Like I said, small town.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, before I knew it, I turned the corner, pulled into a driveway, and was officially on the grounds of Forks High.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>beau's at school! we get to see how the first part of his first day goes next chapter, and we start to get an introduction to the rest of the cullens! and like i said last time, the positive feedback i've gotten continues to overwhelms me. your comments and kudos really make my day whenever i see them. from now on also hit 1,000 views at some point between the posting of last chapter and this one. thank you all so much for enjoying this. i'll see you all sometime in august.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. First Days and Edward Cullens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>I parked as close as I could to what I recognized as Edward’s Volvo, which was directly next to what had to have been Emmett’s Jeep. Besides it being the only Jeep in the lot, I could tell it was Emmett’s by the fact that Alice was standing next to it, as she had promised. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi Beau!” She said, giving me an enthusiastic hug. I stiffened, not used to all that affection from friends, but I tentatively returned the gesture. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Alice.” I greeted her, then looked around. We were the only ones there. “Where’s Rosalie?” Alice shrugged. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Walking to class.” I must have frowned or something, because Alice was quick to reassure me. “Don’t take it personally. Rose is just… Rose.” A bell rang somewhere near the building, which got her attention. “I have to get going, Beau.” She must have seen my look of panic, because the next thing she did was put her hand on my arm and wink. “Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. I’ll see you later!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And then she was gone, leaving me to figure this out on my own. Though judging by that wink, she must have seen something helpful. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I wandered until I found one of the administrative buildings, where a helpful teacher directed me to the front office. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When I finally got to the front office, I was at least thankful that the heat was on after walking in the cold for so long. It was a small room divided in half by a counter; the area that students were supposed to congregate in was filled with some chairs, a clock, posters covering the walls, and way too many plants. There were three desks behind the other side of the counter, and there was only one woman behind them, who immediately questioned me when she saw me. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> “Can I help you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah, I’m…” and this was the part that was going to suck the most, “Isabella Swan.” Of course, she recognized me instantly when I said that. Everyone here probably knew of “me” already. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Of course,” the office worker said. She sifted through a large stack of documents sitting on the desk, finally pulling out the few she was looking for. “Here’s your schedule, and a map of the school.” She set them down on the counter to show me. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She went through each class with me, using a highlighter to mark how to get there on the map, as well as giving me a piece of paper to have each teacher sign that I had to bring back at the end of the day. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you.” I said, once I felt like it was alright for me to leave. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re welcome!” She smiled at me and I smiled weakly back. “I hope you like it here in Forks!” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thanks.” I said quietly, already walking out of the door and back into the terrible outside. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I followed the map to Building 3 and got to Mr. Mason’s classroom just in time to completely interrupt the class. As soon as I walked in, every eye in the room was on me. Great, so much for not standing out. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, hi.” I said awkwardly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello.” Mr. Mason replied. “And you are?” I braced myself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isabella Swan?” It came out more like a question. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, Ms. Swan. I’ll speak to you after class. Sit there for now,” he gestured to an empty seat near the front and I took it. There was a guy sitting next to me in a starchy looking button-up shirt who gave me a half-hearted wave; I waved back.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey.” I said, trying not to be rude.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey. You’re the new girl. Isabella, right?” I nodded.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Just Bella is fine though.” I internally cringed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cool. I’m Eric.” Eric, like Eric Yorkie? What the hell? I always thought he was one of the dudes that fell all over Bella the second she showed up. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>...Though, looking down at my clothes and tugging at the hat still covering my head, he may have only been attracted to Bella the girl, not Beau-pretending-to-be-Bella. I was, after all, covering up most (if not all) of my “Bella-ness.” I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, since he wasn’t currently hitting on me. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice to meet you, Eric.” And with that brief introduction out of the way, we both turned our attention to the teacher. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Class wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>supremely </span>
  </em>
  <span>boring; English always was my favorite subject, but it was a high school class. I spent most of my time idly doodling in Bella’s notebook and writing down anything I figured was important about the classic book that Mr. Mason had discussed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When class was finished, I got him to quickly sign my sheet and ask me any questions he needed to ask (I was grateful he didn’t need to ask many) before I had to get to my second period. I didn’t even have time to find Alice- I just wanted to get there and get any introductions out of the way before class started. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I walked into Mr. Jefferson’s classroom and took care of any necessary business. While he was signing my sheet, I made an offhand comment about how everyone in this class probably knew I was here already, and I must have sounded so pathetic that he said I didn’t have to stand up in front of the class and introduce myself. I think I actually breathed a sigh of relief when he said that.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After that was finished, I scanned the room for an open chair; it was still early enough where most of them were open. I frowned as my eyes landed on a guy sitting in the exact seat I would have taken- back left corner. As I looked closer, I recognized him. Long limbs, messy hair so reddish-brown it could have been spun out of bronze, and a Pattinson-esque square jaw. Edward Cullen in the flesh, and the seat next to him was free. Jackpot. I didn’t even know the guy yet but hell, sitting next to him was probably safer than getting myself caught in the net of anyone at the school, especially any more of Bella’s book friends. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Beau Swan.” I said, getting his attention and sticking out my hand. “A friend of your sister’s.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Edward Cullen, though I suppose you already knew that.” His voice was soft and a little sad,  though he had a wry smile on his face. He put his cold hand in mine and shook it firmly. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah.” I said, at a loss and still a little shocked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell was he doing here? He never had government with Bella, they met in biology and that’s like 4 periods from now judging by my schedule. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re surprised to see me. You were supposed to meet me in biology class, later today.” Edward remarked. I blanched.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How do you know that?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can read your thoughts.” He said bluntly, but quiet enough so only I could hear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No you can’t.” I said with way too much confidence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes, I can.” Edward reiterated. I still didn’t understand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You can’t read Bella’s thoughts and…” It hit me. “I’m… not Bella. Right.” I said, shaking my head. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right.” Edward agreed. “I do promise not to eavesdrop any more, Beau. I am sorry.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s cool, dude.” I said offhandedly, still processing the situation. “So, how’s this class?” I wanted to mention that I had taken a semester of government before as part of a set of graduation requirements, but I had no idea how much Alice had told him about where I came from. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s easy if you’ve taken it before.” He said with a pointed look and a raised eyebrow.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck.” I cursed under my breath, laughing a little. “I thought you said you wouldn’t eavesdrop.” Edward chuckled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That was not on purpose. You think very loudly sometimes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span> Mr. Jefferson thankfully took that moment to start the class. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Government was, just like I remembered, a drag of a class. But, since I didn’t have anywhere near the previous knowledge I had in English, I had to pay close attention and take good notes. Edward and I took off when the bell rang, and he showed me the way to my next class; even though we didn’t talk much on the way there, we were walking to buildings somewhat near each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As nice as he seemed, I silently thanked God that no one caught me walking with Edward. That would raise way too many questions that I didn’t know how to answer yet. My third period was trigonometry, a class that I was truly dreading. I hadn’t even taken trig when I got through high school the first time, and I supremely sucked at math.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But, oh well, time to get it over with. After giving my sheet to Mr. Varner, I was directed to an empty desk near the middle of the room. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hi!” Said a perky voice to my left quite literally as soon as I sat down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, hey.” I said back, taking a look at the girl that just spoke. She had a huge mass of dark curly hair and a wide grin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Jessica Stanley.” She introduced herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nice to meet you, I’m…” I trailed off, realizing I had just told everyone my name a minute earlier, “just call me Bella.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay! You’re from Phoenix, right Bella?” I nodded. Apparently word travelled fast around Forks. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep.” I replied, really not in the mood </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Isn’t it like, super hot there?” Jessica asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yep.” I answered again, half-heartedly. Thankfully, Mr. Varner had started talking again, so Jessica turned most of her attention to him. Though that may have been in part because of my less than enthusiastic responses. Trig was, put simply, absolute hell. Transferring in the second semester meant I was already supposed to know most of what was being taught, and I spent the entirety of that class basically dictating everything Mr. Varner said. Jessica seemed to pick up on the fact I was struggling: she did try to talk to me again a few times, but I answered curtly every time. I really did try not to be rude; Jessica seemed like a nice enough person, just not one I wanted to risk getting to know too well given my situation. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>I was exhausted by the time I left that room. Jessica followed me to my next class, Spanish, which we ended up sharing. That one would be a breeze. I answered her barrage of questions a little more completely as we walked to not seem as rude, and by the time we got to the room Mrs. Goff- oh, excuse me, Señora Goff- must have assumed that Jessica and I had already made fast friends. She had me take the desk next to hers, which wasn’t terrible, especially given how easy the work was. I really did appreciate that break after trig. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But then, after Spanish came the real challenge: lunch. The true test of high school, when I would be really thrown to the wolves.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>holy cow i did it! i got it in on time. sorry i made you all wait on this one, august was a bit of a rough month- i've been dealing with a back injury. however, i'm healing up nicely and i got this chapter out! i'm really proud of it if i do say so myself. plus, it's kind of a long one. we get to meet some of bella's book friends, and edward. i think i may have made edward a little less serious and sad, but i really like the way he turned out. i also tried to match beau's schedule to bella's in the book as best as i could, i think i did a decent job of that. we're also starting to see a lot of apprehension from beau about getting to know anyone non-cullen. poor guy doesn't want any kind of unwanted attention, not only does he hate it, the more attention he gets the more discrimination he could have to face. well anyway, again, thank you all so much for the support and i'll see you all in september!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. More Classes and More Cullens</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As soon as class was over, I grabbed my backpack and made a beeline for the door, but I was not alone.</p><p>Jessica Stanley, the kindest and most determined of barnacles, followed me all the way to the lunchroom and gave “Bella” an invite to sit with her and the rest of her gang.</p><p>As nice as Jessica seemed, the more I got to know anyone Bella knew in the books meant the more explaining I had to do when things in my new life got really complicated. Hence why I had been polite but curt with her, and didn’t initiate much conversation with Eric back in English. I knew what I had to do to get out of this lunch situation, even though I didn’t really like it. So much for not raising too many questions.</p><p>“Thanks for the offer, Jessica, but I actually met a guy in my government class who offered to let me sit with him and his siblings. Maybe some other time.” I said, the lie flowing smoothly off my tongue. Her eyes went wide and I stopped walking. "What?"</p><p>"Siblings?" Jessica dropped her voice to a whisper. "Are you talking about <em>Edward Cullen</em>?" She spoke his name like he was some kind of celebrity, or god.</p><p>And this is where it begins.</p><p>“Yeah, I think so. Edward something, at least.”</p><p>“Oh-em-gee, Bella, I am so jealous.” I swore I saw her swoon for a moment, right there in the hallway before glaring at me. “It’s your first day and he’s already into you.” I laughed nervously.</p><p>“I really don’t think he’s interested in me, Jessica. I helped him out in class and he’s probably just doing the new kid a favor to pay me back. Even if he was, I don’t know...” I trailed off. </p><p>“So you’re saying you’re not into him?” Jessica looked at me, confused.</p><p>"Uh, he's…" I couldn't actually say 'the brother of the girl I'm actually interested in,' so I hoped "not my type," would suffice. "Not my type." Wrong move. Jessica practically had a fit.</p><p>"You mean unearthly handsome and gorgeous isn't your type? His jaw could cut marble, girl." She said, and I felt my insides twist when she called me 'girl.'</p><p>“I mean, yeah, he’s attractive, but it’s my first day here. I’m not sure I’m ready for that kind of thing yet.” Jessica seemed to concede.</p><p>“I guess. But I’ll just let you know, if you do try, it’s pointless. He doesn’t date. It’s like none of the girls here are good enough for him or something.” She scoffed. I shrugged, but kept quiet.</p><p><em>Maybe he just doesn’t want to date. </em>I thought to myself. I wouldn’t have dared to actually say it out loud for fear of Jessica’s almighty wrath. We entered the cafeteria, and the amount of people crammed into one room made me sick.</p><p>“Alright, well, it was nice meeting you Jessica. I’ll see you around.” I said and waved. Jessica waved back and as soon as she did I made my escape.</p><p>The Cullens weren’t easy to spot to the untrained eye, but I knew to make a beeline for the farthest corner table. Alice, Rosalie and Edward were there, joined by a dark-haired guy built like a brick house and a blonde with hair that just brushed his chin. Emmett and Jasper, obviously. There was an open spot against the wall in between Edward and Jasper, which I gratefully took.</p><p>“Hey.” I greeted the Cullens I knew, then turned to Emmett and Jasper. “I’m Beau Swan. Nice to meet you guys.” Jasper reached out his hand, and I shook it.</p><p>“Nice to meet you too.” Jasper said softly. He seemed even more quiet and introspective than Edward. Emmett smiled at me from across the table, but didn’t make a move to do much else.</p><p>“Yeah.” He said to second Jasper, then moved his attention back to his food, which he wasn’t eating anyway.</p><p>“So, how was class?” Alice said, sounding very much like a mom would when asking the same question.</p><p>“It was alright. Everyone here seems nice, or nice enough.”</p><p>“Good!” Alice seemed pleased. I reached in my backpack to grab my lunch, but hesitated.</p><p>“You guys don’t mind if I eat, right?” I didn’t get any affirmative answers, so I went ahead and took it out. I started to eat, and polished off my food pretty quickly. After I was done, I sat back and took a break for the first time that day.</p><p>I listened to Alice, Emmett and Rosalie talk about the upcoming NFL playoffs, and watched Edward and Jasper have some sort of conversation too quiet for human ears to pick up, but something felt off. I quickly scanned the room and saw a pair of vaguely familiar blue eyes. I looked closer, and…</p><p>“Holy shit.” I said to Edward, dropping my forehead to the table. “Jessica is staring at us.”</p><p>“Jessica Stanley?” Emmett asked, chuckling. “Yeah, she does that every couple days.”</p><p>Well, at least it wasn’t unusual.</p><p>“Got it. I’m going to apologize in advance, since it might get a lot worse now. She figured out I was sitting with you guys and immediately thought Edward was interested in me.”</p><p>Rosalie opened her mouth to say something, but the bell rang and cut her off before she could. As the rest of the Cullens started to get up, I noticed the food still sitting on their trays.</p><p>“Hey, do you all mind if I take some of that? I don’t think Charlie Swan will be appearing on the Food Network anytime soon, and it’ll be good to have some snacks around until I can get to the grocery store.”</p><p>“Of course.” Alice said, and the others seemed to agree. “Good luck with the rest of your classes!” While they left, I took everything that was either fruit or mostly non-perishable. It wasn’t a lot, but I didn’t have to worry about what else I’d have to pack for lunch the next couple of days. I tossed the rest of the food, put the trays away and packed my backpack before meeting Edward again in the hallway.</p><p>“Bio?” I asked him, and he nodded.</p><p>We walked over to the biology classroom in companiable silence, until we got to the door and saw Jessica Stanley standing with another girl who I didn’t recognize and a guy that I could place as being in my Government class. I stopped short before they could see us coming.</p><p>“C’mon, Edward. You should go in before I do; I really don’t want to be on the receiving end of a Jessica Stanley shit-fit because she saw us being friendly.” That got him to crack a smile, and he walked ahead through the door into the classroom.</p><p>I went in a few seconds after him and spoke to Mr. Banner. He thankfully signed my paper and handed me a textbook without much fuss, then told me to take any spot that was open.</p><p>I looked around and, yep- Edward was sitting next to the only open seat, just as I thought. I noticed a couple of people staring, but by the time Mr. Banner started talking they were thankfully occupied.</p><p>The lecture was on cellular anatomy, which I remembered nothing about, so I had to take pretty good notes to understand what was going on.</p><p>The bell rang faster than I expected it to, and Edward and I parted ways amiably at the door. I stepped out of the classroom, unsure of where I was going next.</p><p>I pulled my folded-up schedule out of my pocket and scanned it.</p><p>
  <em>Let’s see here. English, government, trigonometry, Spanish, biology…</em>
</p><p>Fuck!</p><p>This day just gets easier and easier. Now, it was time for me to figure out how to get out of gym class.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i'm back! wow, this one was a long time coming. thank you all for your patience, and for the well wishes and continued support. we crossed 100 kudos since i last updated which blows my mind. i had the last chapter almost done so it was easy to get that one out at the end of august, but i basically didn't write at all for the last couple of months and was focused entirely on recovery. i'm happy to say that i'm recovering really well, but probably won't be sticking to a set update schedule like i was before. i'm hoping to make up for september and october's chapter asap though. anyway! poor beau. at least he's starting to get a really nice support system! we'll see how he carries on in the next chapter, up asap!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Hallway Pass and Gym Class</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I made my way towards the gymnasium, pulling my coat a little tighter around my body. It was still raining, of course, though I walked as slow as I could since I didn’t care how late I was. But I stopped pretty abruptly when I saw a familiar figure across the way. Rosalie actually made eye contact with me, so I waved.</p><p>“Hey.” I said.</p><p>“Hey.” She mimicked. “Where are you going?” I vaguely gestured towards the gym building.</p><p>“Gym.” I got the distinct feeling that she didn’t want to continue the conversation, so I quickly glanced at Bella’s watch. God, I need to get a new one. Especially since Bella’s wrists were a little thicker than mine. “I think I’m late, so, uh..” I gestured towards the building again.</p><p>“Alright. Well, good luck.” She trailed off awkwardly. Maybe she wanted to talk to me more than I thought.</p><p>“Thanks!” I tried to call out, but the word died in my throat- she was too far gone. While I had been thinking, she had been power-walking.</p><p>I trudged the rest of the way to the gym. When I opened the doors, I cringed. The whole room was divided into volleyball courts, and everyone had already changed and been divided into teams.</p><p>I made my way over to the gym teacher Mr. Clapp, who told me very quickly to call him “coach” instead after I apologized for being so late to class. He signed my slip and found me a uniform, but thankfully told me I didn’t have to dress down today. That took care of the immediate problem.</p><p>I mostly stood around and watched the games. I wished I could have played, I love athletics, but this body (just like my old one) wasn’t really conducive to me playing sports and feeling comfortable at the same time.</p><p>So now I needed to find an excuse for, well, the rest of high school.</p><p>…Asthma? Did asthma get people out of gym? It was worth a shot.</p><p>“Coach Clapp?” I approached him when he had a moment free.</p><p>“Yes?” He asked.</p><p>Shit! I should have taken more time to prepare.</p><p>“There are some, uh, papers…” I was not good at coming up with this. “Medical papers, that my mom is sending. They’ll be here soon; I have some stuff…” I vaguely gestured at myself in hopes to convey something like what I actually meant. Asthma probably wasn’t going to work. “My gym credits in Phoenix got waived.”</p><p>“Alright. The office’ll square it away.” He was clearly a man of few words, and left to go answer the question of someone who had called his name.</p><p>Well, now I have to forge papers saying I have some sort of gym-class ending condition. I really needed to get a to-do list together.</p><p>I grabbed a pencil and a scrap of paper from Bella’s backpack and began to wrack my brain.</p>
<ol>
<li>Forge medical paperwork for gym</li>
<li>Groceries</li>
<li>New clothes</li>
<li>Haircut</li>
<li>Binder</li>
<li>Job? Unclear. Need more money.</li>
</ol><p>I had found Bella’s money shoved into a pair of socks, and it wasn’t a small amount,but right now I didn’t know how much I could count on Charlie. If I was going to bankroll basically my entire life, I needed more.</p><p>I was lost in thought when Coach Clapp told everyone to break down the courts and get changed before the final bell. I jumped to my feet and grabbed the form.</p><p>“Uh, Coach Clapp, I need to drop this off at the front office. Can I go do that now?” He nodded, and made a grumbling noise of affirmation.</p><p>I made my way back to the front office, where thankfully there was no angry Edward waiting to change his biology class.</p><p>“How did your first day go, dear?” the same receptionist asked me when I handed her the paper back. </p><p>“Oh, it was alright.” I mumbled, and it wasn’t a lie. It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, all things considered. It definitely wasn’t as bad as the real Bella made it out to be. I was beginning to think she may have been a bit dramatic, and more than a bit pessimistic.</p><p>“Good!” She said. “Have a good afternoon.”</p><p>“You too.” And just like that, I was free.</p><p>I got out to the parking lot just in time to see Edward’s Volvo pull out, followed shortly by the Jeep.</p><p>Well, now I had no reason to stick around, even if I wanted to. I  It was raining pretty hard now, so I booked it across the lot and into the truck.</p><p>I shut the door hard and locked it as soon as I got inside, then sighed the exasperated sigh that only a high schooler could. One day down, countless many to go.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>another one down! i'm going to try and get chapters 9 and 10 done before the new year, then take a little bit of a break to get back to my monthly update schedule. things are starting to settle down for beau a bit, thankfully, so now he'll have some time to find some footing in his life before the really crazy stuff starts. there's going to be a bit of a time skip (nothing crazy, just some days) at the start of chapter 9 as well. i'm looking forward to it and i hope you all are too. also, once again, i continue to be blown away by the response (over 125 kudos and 2500 hits!!) and thank you all for reading and enjoying.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Lunch Confrontations and Post-Lunch Confrontations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>From then on it was just a matter of settling into a new routine. Basically overnight, the rain turned to cold wind, and I managed to get into Bella’s email account a few days after school started to update Renee before she flew up to Forks herself to see if “Bella” was okay.</p><p>I continued to sit with the Cullens at lunch, and I continued to listen more than I talked. I trudged through homework and managed to get to the Thriftway for real groceries a couple of times. Rosalie continued to elude me; any conversations we had were, like the one we’d had my first day of school, about as deep as a puddle. I certainly wasn’t surprised, but after what happened the night I got here, I was hoping we’d at least get beyond brief observations of school and onto normal small talk. Oh well. I had nothing but time, I guess.</p><p>So, I was about a month and a half into my now-permanent stay in Forks, Washington and I was feeling pretty on top of things. People were even starting to ignore me, save for the odd glance (most people) or sustained eye contact (Jessica) when I was with the Cullens.</p><p>Of course, that was when I decided to start changing my wardrobe. Around day three in Forks, I started to feel a familiar suffocated, panicky feeling every time I got dressed, which wasn’t fun, but despite that I laid low for a little while longer. I certainly was excited to get some masculine, weather-appropriate clothing, but when I brought it up one day at lunch, it became clear I wasn’t the <em>most</em> excited by far.</p><p>“<em>Finally</em>!” Alice said as soon as the words left my mouth. “We’re going shopping, then! We can go this weekend. There’s a mall in Port Angeles, Rose and I are there all the time.” My cheeks flushed.</p><p>“We?” Alice looked at me like I had grown a second head.</p><p>“Yeah, we. Did you think I’d let you go do this all by yourself?”</p><p>“No, I just thought…” I scanned the cafeteria. We were the only ones at the table then. “Alice, I really appreciate it but you don’t have to do this. It’s enough that you let me sit with you and the others, and take your food, and... everything else.” She sighed, and put a hand on my arm.</p><p>“Beau, I never <em>let</em> you hang out with us, I’ve always wanted you here.” She squeezed my wrist affectionately. “I’ve seen really good things. When I first met you, I already considered you my friend because I knew that it would happen. Everyone else doesn’t really get it yet, but they trust me. Don’t be worried if they take a bit to warm up to having someone new around.” Huh. That sounds… a lot like something I vaguely remembered Alice telling the real Bella. Though I guess at this point, I was the real Bella. “And don’t sell yourself short- I’ve heard you’ve been talking books with Edward.” That made me smile, and even laugh a little.</p><p>“Thanks, Alice.” She grinned.</p><p>“You’re welcome.”</p><p>“And thanks for coming with me this weekend.”</p><p>“Beau, really, it’s no problem. In fact, it’s my pleasure.” Alice winked at me. Everyone else began heading over, and Emmett looked confused as he plopped down across the table from us.</p><p>“What’s no problem?” He asked.</p><p>“Letting me help him go shopping. Want to come with?” Emmett looked at Alice, then at me, then shook his head.</p><p>“I could use a new turtleneck.” Jasper murmured as he sat down next to Alice, so soft I could barely hear it. Alice lit up and squeezed his hand.</p><p>“You should totally come with us! The more the merrier.” He shook his head as well, but a small smile crossed his lips, and at that moment I felt completely at ease, despite knowing I should be worried- I had never been shopping with friends, especially not friends as enthusiastic about the process as Alice. At least I knew she wasn’t faking that, or, as it turns out, our friendship.</p><p>Not surprisingly, Edward declined the invitation, but made me promise to pick him up a copy of the first in Stephen King’s Dark Tower series <em>if </em>I gave Paradise Lost a shot.</p><p>Rosalie agreed as well, though not without an only half joking promise to keep her out of what she called “the lumberjack section.” I filed that information away to worry about later, closer to Saturday.</p><p>Lunch went pretty smoothly after that. I ate, the Cullens didn’t, and I scavenged their non-perishables before Edward and I started to walk to bio.</p><p>Then, as they say in a show that probably hadn’t even been released yet, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked.</p><p>“Bella!” I heard Jessica shriek before I saw her. I turned to Edward.</p><p>“Just go, dude. I’ll meet you in class.” He walked away as fast as he could while not running and still passing as human. It took about as long for Jessica to catch up to me. Did she sprint or something?</p><p>“Oh my God, Bella! Tell me everything. Mike Newton told me you guys were lab partners and I’ve seen you sitting with that family at lunch but <em>walking to class together</em>? I need details. About all of them. What do they do? How do they talk? What do they like to eat? Do they even eat? I heard they don’t eat.” Out of all the invasive questions Jessica had asked me in the short time we had known each other, these weren’t the most bizarre, but it was different hearing them just after being reaffirmed of how good the Cullens had been to me since I came.</p><p>So, that was when I snapped.</p><p>“Why are you so obsessed with them?” From the minute I had gotten to school, I had been expecting everyone to latch on to me and give me trouble about befriending the Cullens, but I had been pleasantly surprised. Except for her.</p><p>“Ugh, like you have to even ask!” Jessica rolled her eyes so hard I was surprised they didn’t fall out of her head.</p><p>“I know. You have a crush on Edward Cullen, think him and his siblings are hot, and have no idea why they don’t socialize.”</p><p>“As if! I mean the rest of them aren’t unattractive, but they’re so pale and creepy! Lauren- Lauren Mallory, you’ve seen her, right? Lauren could take that Rosaline girl <em>any day</em>. His brothers look like a steroid monster and a druggie, and don’t even get me started on his midget sister. Edward’s the hottest out of all of them by far but he’s hot in like, a weird goth guy way. An angelic gorgeous goth guy, not gross like a real goth guy.” She giggled, then pouted like an angry child. How she could laugh after bad-mouthing my friends, I had no idea. “Seriously. I have no idea why he hangs out with them. He’d do so much better hanging out with all the normal people. They don’t even try to fit in with everyone else! They’re so weird.”</p><p>Fucking hell, Stephenie Meyer was wrong about this too! Her stupid Bella-centric writing made it seem like everyone not only thought Bella was perfect, hot and unattainable, but the Cullens too.</p><p>“They hang out with each other because they’re siblings. And maybe they just don’t have things in common with everyone else.” At that point, I was boiling mad. I kept it short, but if I had less of a brain I would have stooped to her level.</p><p>“Uh, but you do?”  </p><p>“I guess you could-“ She cut me off.</p><p>“Is <em>that</em> why you’re dating him a month after switching schools?” I sighed hard.</p><p>“Jesus, Jessica, I’m not dating Edward! I think I’ve told you this every other day since I started school here. At this point I’m not even sure if <em>you</em> want to date him yourself!”</p><p>“Why do you even hang out with him and his crazy family then?”</p><p>“Because they’re good people! And like I tried to tell you, we do have some things in common.” Apparently this wasn’t an acceptable answer for her.</p><p>“They’re losers, Bella!” She then got a malicious grin on her face. “And I guess that means you’re a loser too.”</p><p>At this point, I was done. And I needed to get to class.</p><p>“Just leave us alone, Jessica. Seriously.” I stared at her long enough for her to get the point, and left.</p><p>Beau 1, Forks 0.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>i told you the drama would ramp up! i'm having a great time writing this, if you can't tell. i hate her, but writing jessica really is a blast. next chapter we get to see beau wholly out of his element shopping with the girls, which is going to be super fun in an entirely different way. and i've said it once, i'll say it a thousand times: i'm super grateful for everyone who's reading and enjoying. the support continues to blow me away.</p><p>oh, and here's a couple of cool behind the scenes author's notes: that bit where beau feels suddenly calm after alice invites jasper along on their shopping trip? it's a nod to one of my favorite details from midnight sun, something that edward says about their relationship: "their union had been a magical thing. whenever jasper thought of it, the entire household relaxed into dreamy contentment, so powerful were his communal emotions." it's adorable, and i wanted to put that in to develop their relationship a bit. <br/>as well, the first episode of avatar: the last airbender aired on february 21, 2005 so depending on the exact dates of what happens when in twilight, and how it corresponds in this fanfiction, the show actually could have aired.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Shopping and Some More Shopping</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The weekend felt like it came a lot faster than I expected. All of the sudden, it was Saturday morning and I was getting ready to meet Alice and Rosalie at the school.</p><p>Charlie was in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and a newspaper as I went to leave, and as I expected, he stopped me.</p><p>“Where are you going?” Charlie asked. This was the first time I had left home over the weekend, so I’m sure he was confused.</p><p>“There’s apparently a mall in Port Angeles, I’m going with some friends. I kind of underestimated the weather here.” I laughed, and Charlie smiled.</p><p>“Good. That’s good for you, Bells. Who are you going with?”</p><p>“Alice and Rosalie. They’re, um, two of Dr. Cullen’s kids.” I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck. Charlie didn’t seem fazed, in fact, he seemed pretty happy.</p><p>“Well, how about that. They seem like a nice family- it’s a shame no one else in this town sees it. How’d you meet them, anyway?”  </p><p>“I…” I tried to remember what I had told Jessica weeks ago. “Their brother Edward is in my government class. I helped him out with something on my first day and he returned the favor and let me sit with them at lunch. After that we just hit it off, I guess.”</p><p>“That’s great. Do you need some cash?” I nodded, and he grabbed his wallet and handed me some money. “Go have fun. Be safe.”</p><p>“Thanks Dad.”</p><p>Charlie really did seem to be a pretty good guy. I obviously didn’t have the almost 18 years of experience that the real Bella did, so I couldn’t say if how she spoke about him was accurate or not, but as of now I didn’t see any glaring flaws. Probably because he was acting in a way conducive to me doing my own thing most of the time.</p><p>As I was pulling into the parking lot I caught a glimpse of some posters advertising the girl’s choice dance next week. Huh. They must have put those up after school on Friday.</p><p>At that moment I was equally glad that none of Bella’s hangers-on were interested in me, and that the girl I would have hoped would ask me was just as uninterested in that dance as I was.</p><p>The Volvo was the only car waiting in the lot, so it was easy to park the truck next to it.</p><p>Alice was in the driver’s seat, so I caught her eye through the window.</p><p>“Hey!” She greeted, after rolling down the window. I waved with a smile.</p><p>“Backseat?” I asked, gesturing to where Rosalie sat in the passenger seat. Alice nodded, and I quickly opened the door and slid in behind her. “Thanks for driving, I’m not sure how my truck would have fared on the freeway.”</p><p>“No problem.” Alice said, pulling out of the parking lot. I quickly learned that she was not a slow driver. I wondered how fast she would have gone if there hadn’t been a human passenger.</p><p>“You should get the truck looked at if you’re concerned.” Rosalie added as we got to the freeway.</p><p>“Yeah, probably.” I agreed. “There’s nothing specific I’m worried about, but it is old.”</p><p>“You’re smart to worry, old cars aren’t always the most reliable.” I definitely blushed when she said that.</p><p>Conversation was light in the hour or so it took to get there, but it wasn’t awkward. We mostly discussed school, homework, what was going on in class, our shared place of education… you get the idea. It was a safe topic, and I didn’t feel like risking a change of subject.</p><p>We ended up pulling in next to a generic department store, which was convenient since it let Rosalie do her own thing while Alice followed me around the men’s department, helping me judge the fit on pairs of jeans and calling every other shirt I picked up ugly.</p><p>“Come on, Alice, what’s wrong with this one?” I groaned, though I really wasn’t annoyed. I was having fun; she did have a great eye and it felt good to know that someone cared enough to help me out with this.</p><p>“What have I been telling you about brown?” She asked, clearly a rhetorical question.</p><p>“That it washes me out, but I don’t think that this shirt,” I held up the shirt against my torso and Alice reached up to grab my shoulder, gently leading me over to a mirror, “would wash me out- oh.”</p><p>It did.</p><p>Alice must have seen the look on my face because she grinned.</p><p>“And I was right. Again.”</p><p>“Yep, right again.” Just to mess with her, I gestured towards another shirt- some plaid thing with a wholly unappealing mix of red, orange, and green.</p><p>“<em>Dude</em>.” Her “are you serious?” look almost made me crack, but I held fast.</p><p>“Dude.” I echoed, completely serious. I lasted about five more seconds before I burst out laughing. “No, no way, I was kidding.”</p><p>“Thank God!” Alice said, laughing with me. When we finally cut it out, I took a look in the cart we were using. Thankfully, because of the location, the store sold a lot of workwear. I was able to get pretty much everything I needed in terms of clothing, plus a great pair of boots.</p><p>“Well, I think we’re good to go.”</p><p>“Great! Let’s get out of here.” I went to the front to pay, and Alice went to find Rosalie and do some looking around of her own.</p><p>It didn’t take them long to join me with bags of their own after I finished, and we headed over to Best Buy so Alice and Rosalie could pick up some CDs.</p><p>While we were there, I decided to use some of Bella’s money on a phone, mp3 player, and set of headphones. I also picked up a camera, to get a head start on listing most of Bella’s possessions that I didn’t want or need on eBay.</p><p>It was dark by the time we went back outside, but before we left Port Angeles, there was one other thing I wanted to try and find.</p><p>“Is there a craft store here?” Alice shook her head.</p><p>“No, but there’s one closer to Forks. I’m sure Esme can get you the directions.” She offered.</p><p>“Okay, cool. I’ll keep that in mind.”</p><p>Well, that kind of sucks, though maybe it was for the best. I was pretty sure that Charlie didn’t want me home too much later after dark.</p><p>Finally, after driving back from the mall, thanking Alice and Rosalie one last time, and taking the truck home, I was alone in my room and faced with a pretty pressing question: now that I’ll start to present differently, do I need to come out to Charlie?</p><p>…No. No, I don’t. I really don’t. If he asks why I look different, I’ll make an excuse. Coming out to <em>anyone</em> before I can get out of high school would cause more issues than I need to deal with, especially considering that James from Twilight might be showing up soon.</p><p>And that was it. The rest of the day (and weekend) were pretty uneventful.</p><p>Just the way I liked it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>well, this is it! the last chapter of 2020. we're about to cross 150 kudos- never in my wildest dreams did i think that from now on would get to where it's gotten from march until now, and i owe that all to you awesome readers. i've caught up with all the monthly updates i'd missed while i was in the rougher stages of injury, so i will be taking a short break until i post chapter 11 sometime in january 2021. i have many plans for this fanfiction and the from now on universe at large, so stay tuned! best to everyone in the new year, and i'll see you soon!</p><p>i'm also toying with the idea of having an author's question and answer around the time of the first chapter's one year anniversary in march, so let me know if you'd be interested in something like that.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Explain and Rain</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I felt pretty good that Monday. I wore my new clothes, was considerably warmer, and wasn’t hassled about my sudden change of wardrobe. Even Jessica Stanley seemed to leave me alone.</p>
<p>I felt less good when I got to the lunch table and Emmett and Jasper were the only other ones there.</p>
<p>It’s not like I had any problem with them- they both seemed like great guys- but Jasper was way too quiet to not feel at least a little unsettled when you were sitting alone with him, and Emmett never held conversation with me longer than he had to. Not sure what his problem was. So, if I had a choice, they weren’t the two I would want to be left alone with.</p>
<p>“Hey,” I greeted. Jasper nodded in my direction with a small smile, and Emmett waved. It seemed like they were just as uncomfortable as I was, without the others as a conversational buffer. “So, uh, where’s everyone else?”</p>
<p>“Out sick.” He said, with a look and gesture that clearly meant “hunting.” Great, that meant they wouldn’t be back for a couple of days.</p>
<p>“Got it.” It got quiet again, and I figured now was the time to get to the bottom of this. “Emmett, did I do something to bother you? If I have I’m really sorry.”</p>
<p>Emmett frowned, but shrugged, and scratched the back of his neck.</p>
<p>“Aw, man. It’s nothing personal, really. You seem like a good guy, it’s just… Rosalie.” My eyes went wide. Shit.</p>
<p>They weren’t married in this universe, but that didn’t mean that Emmett had some sort of unrequited love thing going on for his best friend.</p>
<p>“Are you interested in her? I mean, she told me that you weren’t mates, but…” I trailed off, really not sure how to finish that sentence. Thankfully, Emmett shook his head.</p>
<p>“No, dude, nothing like that. I’m just looking out for her, you know? There have been guys that have been interested in her, but she hasn’t dated much. We’ve gone 70-something years without finding anything like Alice and Jasper or Carlisle and Esme have. And now, you’re clearly into her. I can tell by the way you look at her. And Rose, well, I probably don’t need to explain to you how that works. So I’m just looking out for her and I guess for me that means keeping you at arms’ length. I know she’d do the same if I ever…” he thought for a minute, figuring out how to discreetly word it, “got into this situation.”</p>
<p>That made a lot of sense, and it gave me a lot of respect for Emmett. He seemed like much more than the meathead he was in the books. Of course he did, because if I’d learned anything since coming to Forks, it was that Stephenie Meyer was wrong about 50% of the time.</p>
<p>“Of course. You’re a good friend, man.” Emmett smiled and thanked me, and conversation pretty much died down after that. Partially because I was eating, and partially because of the massive storm we could hear happening outside. Even if someone said something, we could still hear the rain in the background.</p>
<p>And as soon as I stepped outside after lunch, I saw the rain. Then, as soon as I stepped out into an area that wasn’t covered, I <em>felt</em> the rain. Needless to say, I had never ran faster to biology class. Thankfully, even though I had to do the same sprint to the gymnasium, gym was being held inside. There had been a couple of days where the weather was cooperative enough to hold class outside, but not today.</p>
<p>Not like I would have done anything, anyway. I was still skipping out</p>
<p>I really did have to figure out some way to forge Arizona school documents, or a doctor’s note, or something, because Coach Clapp looked like he was one week away from sending me to the principal’s for not participating.</p>
<p>My freeloading days were numbered but thankfully he didn’t single me out today, so I was able to get through gym scot free.</p>
<p>It was still dumping rain outside, so hard I could barely see. It took me way too long to find the truck, and by the time I did I was soaked to the skin. I turned the car’s heat up as high as it could go but it didn’t get me much drier when I got home. I was freezing and dripping wet, so my first stop after taking my boots off at the door was upstairs to take a scalding hot shower and put on new clothes. Maybe take a nap, too, before I started my homework.</p>
<p>Even Bella’s bra was drenched. Hey, there was no way in Hell I was thinking of that thing as mine.</p>
<p>I really needed to get a binder. I mean, a binder would have gotten just as wet, but that wasn’t the point of wearing it. Bella was flat-chested enough where one of those would help a lot but not be too obvious where it would single me out, and that was the last thing I really could do before the major physical changes: cutting my hair and getting on testosterone.</p>
<p>I’d need to order it online and take measurements, but I couldn’t do that second part on my own.</p>
<p>Of course, I knew who could help with that. I really didn’t feel like I knew Alice well enough for this- I don’t think there was anyone in either of my lives that I felt I knew well enough for this- but out of everyone I could have gone to, she was the best choice. And, as a bonus, she probably knew the most about fashion and measurements.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, that would mean she’d need to take measurements of my torso, when I wasn’t wearing anything on my torso. I tried to shove that thought as far to the back of my mind as I could while I got out of the shower, dried off, and put on some actually dry clothes. I put the old ones in the dryer, and took that nap.</p>
<p>I didn’t do much to earn it, but hey, I had earned it.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>we're back! happy 2021 everyone. not much to say here- this chapter's more of a set up for next chapter, because wow, that one's an important one. once again, i'm going to thank everyone for the continued positive response and i'll see you all in february!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Surprising Conversation and Uncomfortable Explanation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Now that I had identified what I began to refer to in my head as “the binder issue,” a fucking minute didn’t go by where I didn’t think about fixing it.</p><p>By the weekend it was getting to be too much, though I chickened out on Saturday. I was too nervous about taking the measurements. So, Sunday, I sucked it up, got in my truck, and drove to the Cullen’s house.</p><p>Alice had given me directions a few days ago when she had come back from her hunt, telling me to take it if I ever needed to use it, and… I now realized she probably did that because she saw me coming here today. I almost thought about texting her, but if she had seen me coming over I probably didn’t need to give her a heads up.</p><p>No other cars were parked in the driveway when I pulled in, but I wasn’t fazed. I parked, walked up to the door, and knocked.</p><p>To my surprise, Rosalie was the one who opened the door.</p><p>“Oh, hey.” I said. “Is Alice around?”</p><p>“No, she’s out with the others running an errand. She said you’d be by sometime today; would you like to come in? I’m sure they’ll be back soon enough.” And that’s why there were no cars.</p><p>“Yeah, sure thing.” She led me inside, and it really hit me that there was no one but us in this giant house.</p><p>I knew I should have texted Alice before I left Charlie’s. Now I was alone with Rosalie for God knows how long. Which really wasn’t a bad thing, but definitely a nervous thing. And unfortunately, I was not good at communicating when I was nervous.</p><p>“Do you guys actually sparkle?” I blurted out instead of thinking for a second and saying literally anything else when we got to the kitchen. Immediately, I wished I could sink into the ground forever. Rosalie turned to me, her golden eyes wide.</p><p>“Excuse me?” she asked. My face felt burning hot, all the way up to my ears and down my neck. I looked down at my feet.</p><p>“Fuck. Um. In the Twilight books. Vampires, they… they sparkle in the sunlight. It’s a whole thing.”</p><p>“Our skin reflects the light to some degree, yes, but we certainly don’t <em>sparkle</em>.” She said the last word with what I felt was an entirely appropriate amount of disdain. I grinned.</p><p>“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”</p><p>“How exactly does Bella Swan find this out?” She asked. I rolled my eyes.</p><p>“God, it’s so stupid.” I stood, walking towards the window and pointing towards the forest. “Bella and Edward are in some meadow in the woods behind the house, and he decides to show her himself in the light. It’s literally a cliffhanger between chapters. But when she sees him, she says it’s like millions of diamonds are embedded in his skin- how she can even see him with all that light coming back at her when she’s not wearing sunglasses I have <em>no </em>clue- and of course her mind is blown. She’s shellshocked the whole time they’re out there. She thinks he’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen, which freaks him out because Edward Cullen in the Twilight books thinks he’s the worst. Bella mentions she’s not afraid of him or something, then Edward freaks out, and he calls himself,” I dropped my voice in a poor imitation of our Edward’s, “‘the world’s best predator.’” She didn’t burst out laughing like I’d expected, but she smiled and chuckled a little.</p><p>“Ridiculous. It’s a truer statement than not, but there’s no need to dramatize.”</p><p>“Right? And that’s <em>before</em> he rips a tree branch clean off because he’s frustrated or something. Yeah, the longer I get used to life here, the more I think that those books weren’t really well-written.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Other than things being just straight-up wrong?” I asked, sitting back down. Rosalie nodded. “Well, everyone was… I can’t think of the right word, but the closest one I’d use would be negative. Bella was kind of a dick. Angry, and sad. Edward was dramatic as all hell and of course Bella was too. When she met the rest of the Cullens some of them seemed to perk up, but not by much. There always seemed to be a problem, then again it <em>was</em> a book so there needed to be a plot, but character development was pretty thin. They- and I mostly mean Edward- still stayed pretty awful by the end. But that’s only what I can remember.” I was really trying to sidestep a particular issue involving one fictional Rosalie Hale, but the real Rosalie Hale seemed to have caught on.</p><p>“Even me?” She asked, furrowing her brows. I sighed, not meeting her eyes.</p><p>“You have to promise me to not shoot the messenger.” She frowns, like she was surprised I would double-check.</p><p>“Of course I promise.” She continued to shock me with how agreeable she was, but I shouldn’t have been. Everyone was so different, why would Rosalie be the exception? I shut my eyes tight; I needed concentration to not chicken out for this next part.</p><p>“And I just want you to know, even though I don’t know you very well, you seem… really cool.”</p><p>“Well I appreciate the compliment, Beau, but I don’t see what that has to do with anything.” I let out a long breath.</p><p>“You asked me, um… ‘Even me?’ Um. Especially you.” I thought I saw her deflate a little out of the corner of my eye.</p><p>“Oh.” She looked crushed.</p><p>“Yeah. I’m really sorry, I can stop talking about this now if you want-” She raised a hand to cut me off.</p><p>“No, Beau. I’d like you to keep going. I need to hear this. What do you remember?” I exhaled, wringing my hands together for a second.</p><p>“You frowned a lot. I honestly can’t remember a time you were described as smiling.” She was frowning in this moment, which sucked because it seemed like she was a lot happier here. Though it’s not like the look on my face was any better. “Oh, man, Rosalie, I know you want this information but it gets a lot worse from there. You were super vain. Part of the reason you didn’t like Bella is because Edward found her attractive in a way he never found you. There was something else I’m sure, but the looks thing is all I can remember.”</p><p>“I <em>what</em>? Was I<em> attracted to him</em> in these books?” I shook my head.</p><p>“No. You just… didn’t like that he didn’t think you were hot, I guess? I can’t recall. I think you guys fought a lot. And this is totally random, but you look nothing like the actress that played you when the books got turned into movies.” It was nice to hear her laugh, but deep down I knew it wasn’t because I had said anything particularly funny.</p><p>“Really?” I nodded.</p><p>“Really- she’s a natural brunette. She was in her 30s before I came here so I’m sure some of her earlier movies are out already. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. There’s not much more that I can recall. The last thing I can say for sure is that you were super bitter. But I wouldn’t really count that as a bad thing off the bat because I have no idea why. You could have had a really good reason to be. Again, I don’t remember. I’m sorry-” She cut me off.</p><p>“Don’t be.” Her voice was harsh, and I must have shrunk back because she sighed, and the next time she spoke, her tone was gentle, almost pleading. “Really, don’t be.”</p><p>“Okay. I’m also sorry that it even was the case.” She smiled sadly.</p><p>“Beau, it’s alright.”</p><p>“No, it’s not. You seemed kind of awful, but you’re clearly not and I’m sorry that she presented you that way. Look, um… Tell me about you.” I vaguely gestured at her. “This Rosalie.” She met my eyes, and her golden gaze nearly paralyzed me.</p><p>“What do you want to know?” She asked that question like she was expecting a certain answer from me.</p><p>“Whatever you want to tell me. I’d really like to get to know you better.” I said. “What kind of stuff do you like to do? After school, and all that. Other than working on cars. That was what I could remember from the books. ”</p><p>“Well, a lot of other hobbies where I can use my mind, and my hands. I’m particularly fond of woodworking.” I grinned, laughing involuntarily. Rosalie looked appalled and ready to strike, but softened considerably when I started talking.</p><p>“Wait, what the fuck? How did I not get this out of you earlier?! I whittled, like, all the time before I came here. I wasn’t that good, but I did it and it was really fun.” I felt my cheeks go a little red. “That’s why I was looking for a craft store. I wanted to replace my knives.”</p><p>“Oh.” She seemed pleased. “Alright. I know I said that Esme would give you the directions, but I could write those down for you today myself if you’d like.” I nodded, and the mood in the room changed. Everything seemed to be weightier, like this moment meant something could actually happen between us.</p><p>“Yeah.” My throat was dry. “That would be great. Would you maybe want to come along?”</p><p>“Sure. That sounds nice.”</p><p>Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her hand creeping closer to mine, and I slowly tried to close the rest of the distance.</p><p>“No Emmett don’t-” A female voice suddenly shouted, and Rosalie and I immediately jumped back away from each other as we heard a key turn in the front door’s lock, then saw Emmett walk inside.</p><p>…And that was a moment killed, and killed super dead.</p><p><em>Fuck</em>!</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>happy valentine's day, everybody! did someone say "turning point?" </p><p>but truly, jokes aside, i have more to explain regarding this chapter. let's be honest here. a lot of stuff plugged into the twilight world makes the cullens terrible. the more i consider it, the worse it seems to get. out of the gate, there's minimal opportunity for personal development for them throughout the decades, so i'm messing with some things. these relate to motive and personality as opposed to concrete events, as i hinted at early on when rosalie first described to beau why she wanted to save emmett- same events, different reason why they happened. the resulting normalization of character is really where the canon divergence comes in. i started introducing hints of it a couple of chapters ago, but the main point is this: from now on is the twilight world, made a fair bit less dodgy, and more realistic. hence why jessica feels the way she does about everyone despite having a crush on edward, why everyone (vampire or not) is a lot more mellow like they've actually grown as people for hundreds of years, why the cullens have a great deal less questionable personality traits, and probably many other things. these changes are some of the things i like most about this story, and i think everyone within this world is a lot happier than they'd be in canon twilight. </p><p>once again, i'd like to thank everyone for their enjoyment and support of the story! i actually have a date for the next chapter's release- march 22nd, the 1 year anniversary of from now on, which is super exciting to me! if anyone has any questions they'd like me (or possibly any of the characters?) to answer, leave them in a comment and i'll post a q&amp;a chapter shortly after the update.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. The Aftermath and Getting the Job Done</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For a moment after everyone else filed inside, all Rosalie and I could do was stare at each other. Edward, Jasper, and who I reasonably assumed must be Esme and Carlisle followed behind Emmett and Alice.</p>
<p>“Directions?” I finally offered. Rosalie nodded, getting up in a way that would have been way too quick for a human.</p>
<p>“Yes, directions, I’ll find some paper.” She left in a hurry, but the look on her face told me she wasn’t quite done with that moment we had. Two people then approached me- one was a tall blond man with neatly combed hair and a navy sweater, and the other was a short, curvy woman in purple. The man offered his hand and I shook.</p>
<p>“You must be Beau. Dr. Carlisle Cullen.” His hand was smooth and cold in mine, and his grip was firm.</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you, sir.” He laughed.</p>
<p>“It’s nice to meet you as well, but you can just call me Carlisle.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, right, of course.” I was then pulled into an unexpected hug.</p>
<p>Esme.</p>
<p>“Alice has told us so much about you, it feels like you’re part of the family already.” She let go and patted my shoulder.</p>
<p>“All good things, I hope.” I joked to cover up the sharp pain I felt in my chest from her displays of affection.</p>
<p>I forgot what it felt like to have an adult do something to show they care about me, beyond giving me cash or reminding me to be safe.</p>
<p>“Yes,” she agreed with a smile, “all good things.” I didn’t really know what to say after that- I was feeling a lot of things at that moment. Thankfully, Alice came to my rescue before I did something embarrassing, like start crying.</p>
<p>“Come on, Beau. Let’s go get that thing taken care of.” She offered. I jumped at the chance and followed her upstairs.</p>
<p>“I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me, Alice.”</p>
<p>“Hey, no need to thank me.” She winked, throwing an arm around my shoulders. “But a little appreciation <em>does </em>go a long way.” I laughed despite my earlier somber mood.</p>
<p>“Believe me, I couldn’t appreciate you more.” We came to a stop in front of a door, which I let Alice open.</p>
<p>The bedroom was huge, and definitely Alice’s. There wasn’t a bed that I could see, which made sense, but I really didn’t get to look around much before she hustled me into the adjoining bathroom. As she did, she grabbed something off of a big desk that kind of looked like a drafting table.</p>
<p>The bathroom was also huge, the size of a bedroom in of itself, and immaculately clean which again made sense since they probably never used it. Alice perched herself on the edge of a bathtub and looked up at me expectantly.</p>
<p>“So, how do we do this? I assume we’re using this.” She asked, waving around a cloth tape measure.</p>
<p>“Yeah. Just, uh…” I reached into my pants pocket and passed her a piece of paper that I had written the directions down on. “Do that. I’m gonna. Yeah.” As she read it over I quickly removed all the clothes on my torso and began detaching myself from the whole thing. I closed my eyes.</p>
<p>“You were going to hold her hand if Emmett hadn’t barged in ahead of me.” Alice commented, snapping me back to reality. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed. “I saw it.”</p>
<p>“Aw, man.” I groaned. “I knew it. Did you see anything else?” Alice grinned, then opened her mouth to speak, but I stopped her before she could. “Wait, no, don’t tell me. It would freak me out too much.”</p>
<p>“I was going to say I’m done.” I looked down and, yep, no more tape measure. I threw my clothes back on.</p>
<p>“That was really fast.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, and it goes even faster when you’re thinking about my sister instead of freaking out.” She said with a grin.</p>
<p>Well, son of a bitch. She was holding a conversation to distract me the whole time she was measuring.</p>
<p>“You’re the best, you know that?” My voice was rough, and I put my hand on her shoulder without really thinking. I guess I still wasn’t used to how nice everyone was being.</p>
<p>“I know.” She said, chuckling. “So, now what? Want to hang?”</p>
<p>I shook my head, picturing the huge stack of homework on my desk due tomorrow that I had yet to do.</p>
<p>“Next weekend? Or after school sometime this week? I have way too much homework. Sorry.”</p>
<p>“It’s cool, you can’t get it all done in one night like we can.” She said, definitely teasing me but without any real bite.</p>
<p>“Of course, immortal being with decades of high school experience that doesn’t need to sleep.” I tried my best to tease back. “Too far?” Alice shook her head and started laughing.</p>
<p>“Nope. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” I nodded.</p>
<p>“Sure thing. Have a good one!” And I was on my way.</p>
<p>As much as I wanted to avoid the inevitable awkward conversation with Rosalie over what happened in the kitchen, I knew it would be better to get it out of the way sooner rather than later. I hoped I would find her before I left, but when I made my way to the front door after saying goodbye to Alice, she was nowhere to be found. Everyone had scattered throughout the house, I suppose.</p>
<p>It sucked, but it was fair. She wasn’t avoiding me on purpose, and it’s not like I wouldn’t have done the same thing.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>it has been one year since i started from now on! i am so grateful to each and every one of you that's read, left a comment, or given kudos to this little story. this is where things start to ramp up, so thank you once again and i hope you enjoy.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>